I Thought You Wouldn't Love Me
by LiaBelle
Summary: Amita has to deal with her troubled past...ok lame summary, i'm no good at writing them
1. Chapter 1

**Warnings: Charlie and Amita are both out of character. I did this because this is the way I think they'd be if they were together for a while. They've gotta come out of the shells sometime!**

Charlie and I strolled hand in hand down one of the quiet paths surrounding Cal-Sci, neither of us saying a word. We saw a bench, and sat down, still not saying anything. I rested my head on his shoulder and he put his arm around me. "I love you, Amita…you know that right?" he said quietly, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, I do. I love you too Charlie," I said, meaning every word.

"Amita... I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don't want there to be a day where I don't get to see you, or talk to you, or kiss you." I sat up in surprise. Was he doing what I thought he was doing? He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He was! Opening it, he looked into my eyes and said, "Amita Ramanujan, will you marry me?"

I threw my arms around his neck, tears pricking my eyes. "Yes, Charlie! Yes, I will!" He smiled, kissed me sweetly on the lips and slid the ring onto my finger.

A few minutes later we had to head back. Our lunch breaks were nearly over. We talked quietly this time, about how to tell everybody else, what kind of wedding we wanted, and all the things a newly engaged couple would talk about. Charlie stopped suddenly and looked around us, a confused and slightly nervous expression on his face. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing, I thought I heard something. It must have just been the wind."

"It wasn't just the wind, Amita," a cold voice said from behind us. Recognizing it, I stiffened, and turned around, grasping Charlie's hand more tightly.

"It's good to see you, Amita." He said smiling evilly. "Oh! And who is this?" He asked with mock interest, looking threateningly at Charlie.

"I believe the question is: who are you?" Charlie shot back at him.

"What? Amita never told you about me? Surely there must be some mistake."

"There's no mistake, Malcolm," finding my voice I spoke up, "there's no reason why I'd want to talk about you!"

"Yes, well, you'll have to pay for that." Malcolm said, reaching into his inside coat pocket. He pulled out a gun. "Now you're going to pay you're life, because you ruined mine." He pulled the trigger before I had a chance to move. But, not before Charlie had a chance, he leapt in front of me, and the bullet hit him square in the chest.

"NO!!!" I screamed dropping to the ground to see if Charlie was ok. Malcolm, not knowing what else to do, ran in the opposite direction. "Charlie! Charlie! Say something!" By now my eyes were so filled with tears that I couldn't see straight. Trying to be strong for Charlie, I started screaming for help. Within a minute, a lady came running down the path.

"I heard the gunshot," she said breathlessly, "and called 911. They'll be here in a few minutes."

I nodded my head, somewhat pathetically, and went back to trying to get Charlie to talk. "You can't leave me," I sobbed, "I need you! Please Charlie, don't leave me! I can't lose anyone else!" After that, everything was a blur. I heard the sirens of the ambulance get louder and louder until they were practically on top of us. The paramedics loaded Charlie into the back, and I climbed in after him, still hysterical. It wasn't until I got to the hospital, and they took Charlie away that it occurred to me to call Don. With shaking fingers, I dialed Don's cell phone.

He answered after the first ring. "Eppes."

"Don? It's Amita."

"Hey, what's up?"

"Don…" I faltered.

"Hey, Amita, is something wrong?"

I cleared my throat. "I'm at the hospital. Charlie got shot." I dissolved into tears once again.

"What? I'll be there in just a minute, Amita, hold on."

"Ok," I said tearfully. I sat quietly for a moment, staring at the ground until I heard a small voice above me.

"Hi." I looked up and saw a skinny teenage girl, about 15 I would guess, holding a toddler on her hip. "I'm Lily. What's your name?"

"Amita," I half whispered.

"My mom has cancer," she explained, "and she got sick this afternoon, so I'm stuck here with my little sisters." She pointed at three young girls sitting quietly, a couple yards away. "Kate was getting fussy, so I'm stuck holding her." She gestured to the sleepy little girl in her arms.

I was silent, not knowing what I was supposed to say to this stranger. "I'm sorry about your mom," I said finally.

"Oh, well, she's been sick for a while. I've gotten used to taking care of the kids by myself."

"What about your dad?" I asked, warming up to the talkative teen.

"He left before Kate was born."

"Oh…I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's ok. He wasn't much of a dad anyway." Neither of us said anything for a while. "So why are you here?" she asked.

Tears pricked my eyes. "My fiancée got shot," I managed to squeak.

"That's terrible!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, and it's all my fault!"

"I doubt that. Tell me about him. What's his name?"

"His name is Charlie. We both are professors at CalSci."

"Are you two, like, geniuses?"

I laughed. "I'm not really, but Charlie sure is."

"What's he like?"

"He's one of the kindest, most caring person that I know," I said, not knowing how exactly to describe the man I loved. "He…he makes me feel special, just by looking at me, he always knows exactly what to say to make me feel better when I'm scared or upset. He's one of a kind, somebody who can't be replaced." Tears leaked out of my eyes at the thought of having to replace Charlie.

"He sounds amazing," Lily said.

I felt much better after talking about Charlie; it distracted me from the reality of what was happening to me. "Talking about him really helped…how'd you know?"

"I've had to deal with my mom's condition for a long time…I know how to sidestep grief," Lily looked so young and vulnerable then, and I admired her strength and courage. Here she was, a girl of about 15 showing me how to be strong.

Don arrived just then. "Where is he? Is he all right? How did it happen?" He shot questions at me the moment he saw me. He glanced at Lily, confused, and she walked away, going back to her sisters.

"I don't know! They won't tell me! They won't tell me anything!" I exclaimed, the calm that I had felt talking to Lily disappearing instantly.

Don took me into his arms. "Don't worry," he soothed, "everything is going to be ok. Now lets just sit down, and you can tell me the whole story, ok?"

I nodded, and let Don guide me to a hard plastic chair. Taking a deep breath I began to tell the story. "Charlie and I were on our lunch break. We decided to talk a walk…" I paused, trying to decide whether I should tell Don about out new engagement. I decided not to. "On our way back, this guy, Malcolm Burnes, came up behind us. He had a gun-"

"Wait," Don interrupted, "you know him? How?"

"Um, we knew each other…. a long time ago. Anyway, he pulled out a gun and shot at me, and Charlie jumped in front of me and so he got hit instead." I finished lamely.

"Amita," Don said gently, "there's something you're not telling me. I'm FBI remember? I know that people, even crazy ones, don't stalk people and try to kill them for no reason."

I started to cry again. "I just-I just thought that this was all over. I thought I'd never have to think about him ever again, and I never thought that he would hurt the man I love!"

"Amita…what happened between you and this Malcolm guy?"

**A/N Dun dun dunnnnn…. as much as I hate reading cliffies, I love writing them. Sorry…. more to come soon! K, so I was gonna post the next chapter, but my computer went insane so part of the chapter got deleted and I didn't realize it. Sry. I'll fix it soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

"I knew him in college," I began tearfully, "we had some classes together. He asked me out one day, and I said no. He got really mad, but I didn't really think anything of it. Then, that night, I was walking back to my dorm. It was dark, and I was alone. He grabbed me from behind and…. and he beat and raped me." Once again, I began to sob uncontrollably.

Don reached out and hugged me. "Oh, Amita, I'm really sorry. Did he ever get caught?"

"Yeah, a couple months later. He was thrown in jail, but he got released two weeks ago. When he saw me, he said that I was going to pay with my life, because I ruined his."

"Does Charlie know?"

"No! And you can't tell him!"

"Why not?" Don asked genuinely confused.

"Because…. whenever I think about what Malcolm did to me, I feel dirty. I don't want Charlie to think that I'm dirty, too."

"Amita, you know he would never think that. He loves you!"

"I know…but I feel so gross and unworthy…." I trailed off.

Just at that moment, nurse walked into the waiting room. "Is there someone here for Charles Eppes?" she questioned. She looked at me. Don and I both jump up and walked to her. "Are you Amita?" I nodded "He's been asking for you. Come right this way." She said, leading us down a hallway.

"Is he ok?" I asked nervously.

"We managed to get the bullet out of his chest. However, he lost a lot of blood and we had to do some emergency surgery to correct the problems." I tensed up with fear. "But, he is now doing well, and is recovering." She stopped outside of a door. "Only one at a time please," she said walking away, "Let me know if there's anything he needs."

Don and I looked at each other. "You go in first," Don said.

"No, you're his brother, you should go."

"He's been asking for you. Go on ahead."

"Ok." I opened the door and walked it. Charlie lay in a bed in the far corner of the small room, IV's hooked up to him, heart monitors beeping and a large bandage was visible on his chest. The moment I saw him, I began to cry again.

"Hey, hey, don't cry." He said as I sat down in a chair next to his bed. "It's ok. Everything's ok." I nodded and he was quiet for a moment. "Amita, who was that guy?" he asked finally. I knew that this subject was bound to come up, but I still wasn't quite ready for it.

"His name is Malcolm Burnes." I began quietly. "I knew him in college. It's a really long story, but it comes down to this. He asked me out one day…." I began to retell the story I had told Don, pausing every now and then to take a deep breath. Charlie, as weak as he was, reached out and held my hand. "…So he was eventually caught and thrown into jail," I finished.

"Then why was he here today?"

"He got out two weeks ago," I responded not wanting to look Charlie in the eye.

He lifted my chin until he was looking right into my eyes. "Amita, honey, why didn't you tell me about any of this?"

I burst into tears. "Because I thought you wouldn't love me anymore," I gasped between sobs.

"Amita! Why would you think anything like that? You know that I love you, and that I always will!" He reached out and touched my face affectionately.

I nodded, not being able to say anything through my tears. Once I had calmed down, Charlie broke the silence. "Is Don here?"

"Yeah," I answered.

"Just out of curiosity, did you tell him that I proposed?"

"No, I wanted to tell him together."

"Why don't you go get him and we can tell him now?"

"The nurse said that you're only allowed to have one visitor at a time." I responded.

"I'm sure she won't mind…after all it'll only take us a minute to tell him!"

"Ok," I agreed reluctantly, getting up to get Don.

"Hey, man! How ya feeling?" Don asked, his FBI training helping him keep his cool.

"Fine…just fine." Charlie replied, glancing over at me. He took my hand once again. "Amita and I have something to tell you." He said. "Go ahead, baby, tell him."

I glared at Charlie, not wanting to be the one to tell Don. "Well…. this afternoon, before… everything happened, Charlie proposed, and I said 'yes'." I said in a rush.

"Wait? You're getting married?"

"That's normally what you do after you propose, Don," Charlie said sarcastically.

I held my breath, not knowing what his reaction was going to be. "Wow! That's great, guys! I'm happy for you." I let my breath out.

"I think I'll let you too have a few minutes," I said. Kissing Charlie gently, I walked out of the room. Once in the hall, I leaned up against the wall and took a deep breath. As ecstatic as I was that Charlie was alive, I was terrified that something would go wrong and he'd be taken away from me.

**A/N Another slight cliffie, but this one isn't nearly as bad as the other one. Thanks to all my reviewers (feel free to click that little review button down below) and I'll update soon! **


	3. Chapter 3

The next two weeks were pure torture for me. I visited Charlie everyday, but it was so hard for me to see him like that. But as the days went by, he gradually regained his strength. I watched, as he got stronger, with every step he took to regaining his health, I got more and more hopeful.

The FBI had taken a statement from both Charlie and me, and they were unsuccessfully trying to catch Malcolm. They tried everything they could think of, but he remained invisible to the eyes of the government.

I was sitting on the edge of Charlie's bed, one afternoon, just looking at him, feeling so lucky to have him in my life when I made a sudden realization. "I don't have anybody to walk me down the isle." As a girl I had dreamed of my wedding day, a beautiful out door ceremony, where my father would walk me down the isle. But my father lived in India now, and we weren't speaking, anyway. Over the years I had grown so close to Charlie's father Alan, that it was almost as if he were my father. So, his sudden death two years ago had shattered my heart as well as Don and Charlie's. I would've asked Alan to walk me down the isle, but now I didn't have that option.

"I could walk you," Charlie suggested, "I know you like traditional weddings, but I don't want you to walk alone if you don't want to."

Tears filled my eyes at his sensitivity, "You'd do that?"

"Of course I would!" he smiled at me. "I'd do anything for you."

"Like get shot to save my life," I said quietly, thanking him in my own way.

"I'd die for you, Amita," he said and I could tell that he was being completely serious. Tears pricked my eyes.

"You've made me cry a lot lately, Charlie," I joked.

"That's because I think you're beautiful when you cry. Well, then again, you're always beautiful." Tears now flowed down my cheeks.

"Stop it!" I protested, pretending to be angry. Charlie pulled me to him and kissed me. "I love you, Charlie," I murmured. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I love you too, baby." He said.

A few days later Charlie was released from the hospital, on strict orders from the doctor to stay in bed and get plenty of rest. Despite Charlie's protesting I took another week off of work so that I could help him get settled. "I don't need a babysitter, Amita!" he argued. "I don't want you to feel like my nurse!"

"Don't you think this is hard for me too, Charlie? Do you have any idea what it's like to see you like this? You think that you're the only one suffering because of this, but you're not. Don is, your students are, the entire FBI is a mess without you, and I, well, I'm the reason that this happened to you! This is all my fault; don't you think that I'm broken up too? I'm not taking time off of work because you need a babysitter, it's because I love you and I want to be here for you! Why is that so hard to understand?" The feelings that I'd been building up inside for the last few weeks burst out suddenly. Not knowing what to do at this point- Charlie and I had never fought like this before-I started to leave the room.

"Amita, wait!" Charlie called from our bed. I retraced my steps and hesitantly sat on the edge of the bed. "Come here," he pulled me closer to him. "Baby, why didn't you tell me this is the way you felt? It's not your fault! It's Malcolm's"

"But it is my fault!" I insisted. "If it weren't for me this never would've happened to you!"

"No, if it weren't for the fact that Malcolm is a freak, this would never have happened to me."

I bit my lip, trying to stop crying. I could tell that Charlie was tired, as he had lay back down on the bed. "I love you," I whispered, "I don't know what I'd do without you." With that, I climbed over top of him so that one knee and one arm was on either side of him. I lowered my head down and kissed him with all the passion that I could muster. This wasn't enough for Charlie though. Without breaking off the kiss, he reached up and pulled me down so that my body collapsed onto his. Rolling us over so that he was on top of me he slipped his tongue in between my lips. I reveled at the wonderful feeling of Charlie all around me that I had missed so much in the last few weeks. "Charlie," I whimpered as his lips began to trail down my neck, "Charlie you're supposed to be resting!"

"I feel fine," he insisted, nipping my neck.

I sighed, really not wanting him to stop, but knowing that it was for the best. I pulled his head back up and captured his mouth in one more kiss before pushing him off of me and sliding over a bit on the bed. Looking into his eyes I detected a hint of hurt and immediately felt guilty. "Charlie, I don't want you to hurt anymore than you already are."

"But you make me feel better," she said simply. "Being around you….it makes me feel so lucky and so happy that I don't feel the pain anymore."

I didn't know how to respond to that. Charlie was obviously pouring out his heart to me here and I just sat there with a dumbfounded expression on my face. It was one of those moments where I wondered what I'd done right to have this amazing man in my life. "I love you," was all I could think of to say. But apparently that was enough because Charlie kissed me sweetly on the lips and pulled me down to snuggle with him.

**A/N Ok, I know it's short and I know you've been waiting a pretty long time for this, but I was having major writer's block! I'm SO sorry! So, review and I'll have another chapter up soon! I hope.**


	4. Chapter 4

I walked into Charlie's office after his last class of the day. "How was your first day back?" I asked.

"Fine," he said, not even looking up at me.

"Charlie, what's wrong?"

"I got shot, Amita, that's what's wrong." He replied annoyed, finally looking up at me. I bit my lip and avoided his gaze. He crossed the room to where I was standing and yanked me into his arms. "I'm sorry," he said, "I'm just stressed out and I had no right to take it out on you."

"No, it really is- "

"Stop saying it's your fault," Charlie begged her. "It's not your fault, alright."

"Ok."

"Say it."

"Say what?"

"Say it's not your fault."

I sighed. "It's not my fault."

"That's my girl." He kissed the top of my head.

"What kind of kiss was that?" I teased. "I want a real kiss," I batted my eyelashes.

"Your wish is my command," he said before his lips came crashing down on mine. I sighed into his mouth. No matter how many times Charlie would kiss me, I don't think that I'll ever get tired of it. Not that I had much experience in the kissing department – I was the nerdy, Indian girl, remember? – but it was pretty obvious to me that Charlie was by far the best kisser out of any of the guys I'd kissed. Charlie's hands began to roam, causing shivers and goose bumps to form on my body everywhere he touched. Eventually, one hand docked itself on the small of my back, and they other one tangled in my hair. He used this position to his advantage, pulling me closer and slipping his tongue in-between my lips, licking every inch on my mouth. I removed the customary blazer he was wearing and my hands wandered to the bottom of his t-shirt. I slipped a hand underneath it, and ran my hands up and down his flat stomach – Charlie may be a math geek, but he's a math geek with an amazing body! "Amita…" he warned. "We're in my office."

"I know," I murmured against his lips.

"Anybody could come in at anytime."

"I know."

"We've gotta stop."

I sighed. "I know." Reluctantly I tore my lips away from his and laid my head down on his shoulder, not ready to remove myself from his arms. He respected this, and held me for a while, not that he had any objections to this.

There was a knock on the door, causing us to jump apart. "Charlie?" Don asked.

Charlie cleared his throat. "Come in, Don."

"Oh, hey Amita," Don said when he saw me. "I'm glad you're here. We got him!"

"Malcolm? You got him?" Charlie asked, a grin on his face.

"Yeah, we've got him in custody." Don smiled, "It took us forever, but we knew he'd screw up, eventually. LAPD caught him coming out of his cousin's house."

Charlie hugged me again and then he hugged Don. The smiles were wiped off of their faces when I spoke up. "I want to see him."

"You what?" Don asked, incredulous

"I want to talk to him. They never let me the first time he went to jail and there are some things that I want to say to him."

"Is that allowed?" Charlie asked Don.

Don hesitated, "I guess, I mean there's no rule that says you can't."

"You're not going, Amita." Charlie told me.

"You're not the boss of me, Charlie. I'm going whether you come with me or not." I said stubbornly.

"I don't want you to get hurt!" Charlie protested.

"How can he hurt me anymore, Charlie?" I asked through clenched teeth. "He already raped me! He already shot you! Really, what can he do to me with police officers monitoring his every move?"

Charlie sighed, "Fine. But I'm coming with you."

"I had every intention of asking you to." I said, still slightly annoyed.

"Let's go." Don said.

Charlie and I sat across from Malcolm, none of us saying anything. I stared into Malcolm's hateful green eyes, the memory of him raping me and seeing those bright green eyes over top of me flashing through my head. "So, Amita baby, what do you wanna say to me?" he said, leering.

"Don't talk to her like that." Charlie barked. He took my hand and squeezed it underneath the table.

"I want to say that the answer is no."

"What answer?" Malcolm asked.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." I countered.

"No, I don't," he insisted, even though it was very obvious that he was lying.

"Let me refresh your memory," I said icily, "The night that you raped me, you said that 5 years from now I'll regret rejecting you because I'll be all alone and nobody will want me. The answer is no. I don't regret it, not one tiny bit. And you were wrong, I'm not all alone, I'm engaged. Charlie wants me."

"Well ain't that sweet?" Malcolm said, baring his yellow teeth.

"Yes, it is," I said, somehow keeping my cool. I stood up. "That's all I have to say to you."

Charlie and I were halfway to the door when Malcolm called, "Wait!"

I turned around. "What?"

"I'm sorry." He said.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure you're very sorry. That's why you tried to shoot me. Don't lose any sleep over it." With that, I left.

A/N So sorry it took so long to update. I got caught up with my CSI:NY fic "Family Problems." I'm done now, so my attention should be on this one. Reviews please!

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	5. Chapter 5

"So is that why you were so afraid to tell me?" Charlie asked me later that night as we ate dinner.

"What?" I asked, even though I was pretty sure I knew what he was talking about.

"What he said about you being all alone and nobody wanting you."

I looked away. "I guess," I shrugged, "I mean, I just didn't want him to be right."

"Well he's not right."

"I know," I smiled at the wonderful man sitting across from me. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

* * *

With Malcolm out of the way, Charlie and I began to plan the wedding. Our relationship improved greatly from the moment that Don told us they had caught Malcolm. We had always been very close, but now the bond binding us together was not about to be broken anytime soon.

It wasn't until wedding preparations had begun that I realized how hard it was. There were just so many things to think about – cakes, flowers, reception halls, dresses, guest lists, caterers – the list went on and on. It was about this time that I began to wish that my mother were here. Planning for a wedding seemed to be something that a mother was supposed to do, so I felt incredibly alone and very stressed.

"Charlie," I moaned one night as we tried to make up a list of guests, "I don't think I can do this."

"You're doing fine, baby."

I sighed. "What does either of us know about weddings? I mean, I've never even been to a wedding! Unless you count the one I went to when I was, like, 6."

"How about this. We'll have a simple ceremony with only a few of our closest friends."

"That sounds good…but where?"

"Why not right here in the back yard?" he asked, "My dad had a wedding for an old friend there once."

I immediately brightened at the suggestion. An outdoor wedding sounded like a perfect idea to me. "That would be great!"

Charlie smiled. "Ok. Well, now that we've got that out of the way….what are you going to do about a dress?"

"Megan's going shopping with me on Saturday."

"Ok… we've still got to finish this guest list, you know."

I groaned. "This is taking forever. I can probably list all of the people I want at my wedding off the top of my head. You, me, Don, Megan, Larry, Colby, David, Millie and a pastor." I paused. "Oh, and Madelyn and Rebecca," I added, naming two of my friends from my old apartment building.

"That's it?" Charlie asked.

"That's it."

"What about your family?"

"What family? My grandmother was the only one who still talked to me, and she's dead. My mom and dad moved back to India, and haven't talked to me since."

"There's no harm in asking," Charlie told me.

"Yeah, "I said sarcastically, "I'll just call them up and say, 'Hey mom and dad. I know that for some unknown reason you hate me, but I'd just like to tell you that I'm getting married and am inviting you to the wedding.'"

"Amita." Charlie gave me what I call The Look. It's the look he has on his face when he doesn't like what I'm saying or doing for whatever reason. I seemed to be getting The Look a lot recently.

"I'm sorry. I do want my parents here, but I just don't think they'd come."

Charlie reached over and hugged me. "Ok, whatever you say."

* * *

On Saturday Megan and I went shopping for my wedding dress. We walked all around Los Angeles trying to find the perfect gown. "I'll never find one!" I complained as I stared at my reflection, clad in a floufy, ruffley number that the sales woman picked out for me.

"I think it looks great," the lady said.

"Yeah for Wedding Day Barbie!" I exclaimed. "I mean look at me! I can't tell where I am! There are too many bows and ruffles and stuff."

"I agree," Megan piped in, trying hard not to laugh.

The sales lady's face fell. "All right, let's try something else"

I retreated to my dressing room. "Megan, make sure she picks a good one this time!" I shouted through the door.

She laughed. "I'll do my best."

I must have tried on a hundred dresses that afternoon – from one's with red lace or pink flowers to a dress that looked like it belonged to a hooker to a white suit. "I just want a traditional, white wedding dress." I insisted. "Nothing too fancy or anything. Just white. That's it."

I slipped into the dress that the sales lady had handed over the door, telling myself that if this one was as bad as the rest, I was giving up and going home. I zipped the back up as far as I could, and without even looking in the mirror, I stepped out of the dressing room. "Ta da." I said without any enthusiasm.

Megan and the sales lady both gasped. "What?" I asked, "Is it really that bad?" I swirled around to look in the mirror, and felt my breath catch in my throat. It was perfect. The dress was strapless, and was made of silk. It fit me like a glove up until my waist where is swished gracefully away from my body. The only decoration on it was a line of tiny white, silk roses along the top and hem of the dress. "It's perfect!" I exclaimed.

"You look gorgeous, Amita!" Megan exclaimed.

"It is quite pretty," the sales lady admitted.

"This is the one." I told them. "This is the dress that I'm going to marry Charlie in."

Megan and I were much more relaxed as we continued shopping that day. We decided to eat lunch at a quaint outdoor café. Our waitress came up to us to take our order. She looked very familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. "Lily!" I exclaimed suddenly.

A look of confusion spread on her face. "Do I know you? You look kind of familiar…"

"I'm Amita! The girl from the hospital? A couple of months ago my fiancée got shot and I was in the waiting room and your mom was there because of her cancer. Do you remember me?"

A smile appeared on the young girl's face. "I remember! How are you? How's your fiancée… what was his name again?"

"I'm great. Charlie's good, too. The wedding is next month." I suddenly remembered Megan. "This is my friend, Megan. We just bought my wedding dress!"

"Hi," Lily greeted Megan.

I suddenly had an idea. "Do you want to come to my wedding? It'd mean a lot to me, you really helped me when I was in the hospital."

"Oh, um, I'd love to! But my sisters…my mom can't take care of them for too long."

"They can come too! I need a flower girl anyway."

"Um, ok. Cool."

I gave Lily my phone number as we left, telling her to call me the next day to work out some details.

"Charlie!" I exclaimed as I entered the house. "We've got one more guest for the wedding!"

**A/N Yay! I've been waiting for this chapter. I liked Lily so much that I had to bring her back into the story somehow! Don't worry…more surprises to come!**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	6. Chapter 6

Charlie and I had managed to pull the wedding details together, with a little help from our friends and a wedding coordinator. Charlie had even coaxed me into expanding out guest list to include some professors at CalSci and some of my old friends. I couldn't help but notice that most of the guests were coming for Charlie, and not me, but I tried my best not to think about it.

The doorbell rang on Sunday – only 6 days to go – as Charlie was whipping up some pancakes as a late breakfast. "Baby could you get that? I'm up to my elbows in pancake batter!" Charlie yelled from the kitchen.

I pulled on my t-shirt and scurried downstairs to answer the door. I was curious to see who would be coming to see us at 11 A.M on a Sunday morning. I swung the door open and froze. "Mom? Dad?"

"Amita." My father greeted stiffly.

"Hello, darling!" my mom hugged me enthusiastically.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, ushering them into the house.

"A Charlie Eppes contacted us and asked us to come for your wedding. Why did you not tell us you were getting married?" my father said.

"Dad, you're the one who stopped talking to me and moved to India," I said defensively

Charlie came out of the kitchen just then, drying his hands on a towel. I groaned inwardly. My parents are very traditional and I had hoped to warn them about Charlie and I living together.

"Mr. And Mrs. Ramanujan," Charlie stuck his hand out, which my father hesitantly shook.

"Mom, Dad, this is my fiancée Charlie." I told them.

"What is he doing here?" my father asked.

"Um…it's his house," I bit my lip.

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I live here." I avoided my parents' gaze.

"Amita!" my mother gasped.

"Mom, I'm a big girl. I can make my own decisions!"

An awkward silence followed.

"Pancakes, anyone?" Charlie asked.

So that's how I ended up eating pancakes at my kitchen table with my fiancée and my parents. I wouldn't classify it as the best meal of my life, to put it lightly. My father alternated between glaring at me and Charlie and my mother just sat there timidly, not wanting to upset Dad.

"Well, that wasn't the best idea you've ever had," I told Charlie as we got ready for bed that night.

"What? I wanted your family to be here."

"I'll bet you don't anymore. I wasn't kidding when I said that my parents were impossible. Did you see how my dad kept glaring at you during breakfast?"

Charlie laughed, "Yeah, it was kinda funny."

"No, it wasn't!" I insisted.

"Yes, it was."

I picked up my toothbrush and began to brush my teeth as angrily as I could. Brushing your teeth isn't really something that's easy to do angrily, let me tell you. I met Charlie's eyes in the mirror and promptly began to laugh, spewing toothpaste all over the counter.

"Told you it was funny." Charlie said after he had helped me clean everything up and I had rinsed my mouth out.

"No, it wasn't."

"Whatever," Charlie said before kissing me. He lifted me up and sat me down on the counter without breaking the kiss. I knew that I wanted this, but was hesitant.

"Charlie," I said in-between kisses. "My parents are sleeping down the hall."

"I know."

"And my mom nearly had a coronary when she found out we were living together."

"I know."

"And my dad sleeps with a knife underneath his pillow."

This got Charlie's attention and he pulled away. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." I wasn't kidding either. There had been random hate crimes against Muslims in my neighborhood as a child, and ever since then my dad had slept with a knife underneath his pillow.

Charlie took my hand and led me to the bed. Very worn out from reuniting with my parents, I laid down and closed my eyes immediately

"We'll just have to save it for the honey moon," Charlie said suggestively.

I took an extra pillow and hit him in the face with it.

"Goodnight, Charlie." I said in a singsong voice.

"Goodnight, baby." He gave me a quick kiss on the lips and pulled me into his arms.

I snuggled up to him and was soon asleep.

**A/N Yep, so that's Amita's parents. Nice people aren't they? Personally, I agree with Charlie. I think they're funny!**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	7. Chapter 7

"This is a disaster! This is a disaster! I'm totally freaking out!" I screeched. The wedding was in 3 ½ hours and the flowers had yet to arrive. "You can't have a wedding without flowers, Megan!"

"Calm down, Amita, just calm down. Don't give yourself a heart attack." Megan soothed. "The flowers will get here soon."

"Ok." I took a deep breath.

"Now sit down, and let me finish doing your hair." As it would turn out, Megan was very talented with a curling iron, so I decided it would be a waste to pay for somebody to do my hair when I could get it done for free.

"Ok." I sat back down in front of my vanity and attempted to calm myself. There was a knock at the door. "Come in!" I called, knowing that it wouldn't be Charlie as he was at Don's apartment getting ready himself.

In walked Lily, followed by two adorable little girls. Their arrival caused me to start shrieking all over again and jump up to greet them. "You're here!"

Lily giggled. We had become pretty good friends in the last few weeks in preparation for the wedding. I took her and her younger sisters dress shopping, and I could tell that the break from working and babysitting was good for her. "Yes, I'm here. Mom was having a good day, so I left Mikayla and Kate at home. I didn't think they'd like sitting through the ceremony anyway, no offence. They're kind of squirmy."

"Hey, Kate's 3 and Mikayla's 5, I don't blame them." Lily had, however, brought along Sydney, who was 7 and was my flower girl, and Miranda who was 12 and a junior bridesmaid. I hadn't originally planned on having more than 3 bridesmaids – Madelyn, Rebecca, and Lily – but decided that it would be unfair to leave Miranda out. After all, she was a darling girl and needed something to look forward to.

Madelyn and Rebecca both sauntered into my bedroom soon after Lily and her sisters arrived. "Maddy! Becca!" I squealed, jumping up yet again causing Megan to sigh exasperatedly. "Sorry, sorry." I sat back down. "I have to be calm," I informed the wedding party. For the next 20 minutes I allowed Megan to finish curling my hair. When the curls were intact, she piled them up on top of my head and secured it with bobby pins that had diamonds glistening on the ends. She let a few tendrils of hair fall down, framing my face. The result was gorgeous. I couldn't help by grin when I saw the finished result in the mirror.

"You look beautiful," Lily gasped, "And you don't even have your make up or dress on!"

"Oh my gosh! You're right! I don't have my make up or my dress!" I began to go into panic mode again.

"Amita, honey, you seriously need to calm down," Megan chided.

I took several deep breaths. "Ok…ok." I decided to take command of the room. "Megan, start doing Sydney's hair! Becca, help Lily with her make up, and Maddy you'll help me. Then once my make up is done I'll help the rest of you, ok? Just everybody help each other!"

There was much laughter ringing through the bedroom as we helped each other perfect our images. Maddy worked wonders on my face and once she was done, I did her make up. Luckily, Becca had had the foresight to bring and extra curling iron, which I plugged in and began to curl Lily's hair. I was terrible with hair, compared to Megan, but with a little coaching and a lot of hair spray, I got the job done. Before we knew it, everybody had their make up perfect and their hair done immaculately – everyone except Megan, that is. "Megan! You need to get your hair done! Your makeup!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, don't bother with my hair! You'll never get it to curl." She insisted

"No! I am curling your hair, and there is nothing you can do about it!" I picked up the curling iron and ordered her to sit down. "Why don't you guys get your dresses on?" Unfortunately, Megan was right. It was near impossible to get her hair to curl. Somehow I managed to get the job done, and once it was put up, it even looked pretty good, if I do say so myself. Megan's make up was done in a flash and soon she was dressed her pale pink gown – how hideously cliché, I know, but we all just fell in love with the dresses the moment we saw them. – just like the rest of them. I was last to get dressed. Nobody had seen me in the gown, except for Megan, and they all ohed and ahed appropriately when I stepped out of the bathroom.

My mother walked into the room just as I emerged, glowing in my white wedding dress. Her eyes filled up with tears and she crossed the room to hug me. "Oh, my baby is getting married! You look gorgeous, darling."

"Thanks, mom," I said, trying hard not to cry myself – after all that time I spent on my makeup, I wasn't about to get Maybelline streaks all over my face.

"I have something for you," she said, pulling out a jewelry box. Inside were a delicate diamond necklace and matching earrings – pieces of jewelry that we family heirlooms, and very near and dear to my mom's heart.

"Really?" I gasped.

"Really." She helped me fasten the necklace and I put the earrings in. If I hadn't looked perfect before, I definitely did now. "I'm getting married!" I squealed suddenly, causing everybody to giggle.

I paced nervously for the next half an hour, just waiting for it to be time. "I want to do this!" I whined. "Why can't we just move the ceremony ahead half an hour?"

My mother chuckled. "Sorry, honey, but you'll just have to wait 30 more minutes."

Seriously, those were the absolute longest 30 minutes of my life. I'm not even kidding. Finally the time came. I took a deep breath, kissed my mother on the cheek and took my father's arm. Charlie and I had talked about him still walking me down the aisle, as my father and I weren't at the best of terms, but I eventually gave in when my dad nearly begged to do the honors. Everybody gasped when they saw me. I knew I looked good, but I didn't think it was that good. I looked up and saw Charlie staring at me, an expression of pure love on his face and I couldn't help but smile. "I love you, my darling," my father whispered as he pulled the veil off of my face and kissed me on the cheek.

"I love you too, Daddy," I said, tears welling up in my eyes.

The ceremony was short and sweet, just the way Charlie and I had wanted. I stumbled through the vows, as tears were clogging my throat. I even saw tears glimmering in Charlie's eyes as he said his vows.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the pastor said, "you may kiss the bride."

Charlie was happy to oblige.

_Finis_

**A/N Oh no! I think I'm going to cry! All of my stories are finished! I'll have to come up with yet another brilliant idea…lol**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


End file.
